The Toyota Earth Charter is the foundation of all our environmental activities. It is a clear statement of the basic policy and action guidelines we follow to achieve sustainable development and effective environmental management. The charter is closely tied to the Toyota Guiding Principles, which define our corporate management philosophy. Specifically, it supports the second of these principles, which states that we will "dedicate our business to providing clean and safe products and to enhancing the quality of life everywhere through all of our activities".

The charter was drawn up in 1992 and subsequently revised in 2000. It sets out our basic policy, expressing how we want to help achieve a prosperous, zero-emissions society by developing environmental technologies, making continual improvements and working in cooperation with others. It also provides us with action guidelines, encouraging environmental awareness and responsibility and the sharing of knowledge and experience with others.

The European Environmental Policy is a formal expression of how we can go about achieving the aims we present in our Earth Charter. Drawn up in 2011, it is the foundation stone for the way we manage environmental matters throughout our business, in accordance with international and national standards and regulations. The policy supports our goal of giving environmental leadership, developing and implementing best practice within our industry and helping others to develop their own environmental thinking and action.

The policy includes our pledge to reduce emissions at every stage of a vehicle’s lifecycle, to cut waste and the amount of natural resources we use, and to make progress towards our goal of the ultimate eco-car. This is supported by our commitment to continuous improvement in environmental performance, energy usage and compliance with legal standards. We also seek to share our experience and encourage others to be aware of environmental issues and find effective ways of dealing with them.